"I heard an orv park may be built in oxford Michigan. that's awesome! I love outdoor activities and so does my family. I look forward to spending time and money in Oakland county Michigan." Thats right folks read it right here

Oxford Township could become home to Oakland County's first off-road vehicle park

Oakland County Parks and Recreation is in the planning stages for an “Adventure Recreation Complex,” a recreational site that could offer an off-road vehicle course, bike and equestrian trails, aquatic sports and scuba-diving.

The project is a partnership between Oakland County Parks and Recreation and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which has applied for a grant to potentially purchase a location according to parks and recreation executive officer Dan Stencil.

Stencil said the need for this type of facility has been realized since the 1980s but never came to fruition, possibly in part because of a lack of effective collaboration between various units of government.

“We’re in a time where units of government are collaborating much more than they ever directly did,” he said. “It’s easier for the department to find common ground where we can leverage each other’s skills and resources for the greater good, so there’s more of an emphasis on a comprehensive regional planning.”

That need reflects the large demographic in Oakland County that owns off-road vehicles.

“Right now, there’s no place you can legally ride on public land,” he said. “The highest concentration of registered off-road vehicles is in Oakland County.”

One of the primary reasons to establish this park was to boost tourism in the region.

“This park has the potential to be an economic driver for local tourism,” Stencil said. “The state has identified the need for this kind of facility, especially in the more densely populated portion of the state.”

Oxford Downtown Development Authority director Madonna VanFossen said the exposure that downtown Oxford would receive from such a park would be a boon to local businesses. Oakland Parks and Recreation recently presented to the DDA board about the proposed project.
“I’m really excited about the positive effect it will have on the downtown area,” she said. “It just affirms our branding that we developed last year: we’re ‘Small. Done Right.’”

“The whole idea is fabulous because it utilizes land in a recreational way that benefits residents and visitors,” she added. “It makes it a little closer to home to recreate with your family, whether it’s off-road vehicles, or hiking.”

Koenig Sand and Gravel is one of several sites being looked at as a potential location for the complex. Oxford Township was chosen as the general target site for the complex because of its significant sand and gravel resources, as well as the fact that mineral extraction processes create bodies of water that would cater to the other activities the complex would offer, including scuba-diving lessons and certification, Stencil said.

“There is no real scuba-diving training and certification center in Southern Michigan,” he said. “It’d be a place where people could get trained and certified in scuba-diving.”

While this project might become a reality sometime in the future, it’s too early to guarantee anything.

“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight,” Stencil said, “and we are going to engage the public and the elected officials in the process.”

The park project is still in the early planning stages and officials are set to present the proposal the public during a series of summer presentations.

(WXYZ) - It would be the first of its kind in Oakland County-- an adventure recreation complex which would provide trails for ATVs, bike and equestrian trails, a place to scuba drive, and zip lining.

That is what the county’s parks and recreation department wants to do.

“Off road vehicles… it’s been an interest in the state of Michigan for over 20 years… to find a place where they can ride legally,” said executive director of Oakland County’s Parks and Recreation Department Dan Stencil. “There’s no place in Oakland county right now where you can ride an off road vehicle.”

Planners tell 7 Action News it's in the beginning stages.

The complex would sit on 900 acres of property.

The department is looking at several sand and gravel sites in Oxford. They are working with the DNR and has applied for a grant to buy land.

Those behind the project say the only place for off road vehicles right now is up north.

“We really need a special place for them to be. Then they’re not wrecking private property and the land,” said outdoor Enthusiast Pat Lindsey.

The department’s executive officer, Dan Stencil, told 7 Action News there will be adequate buffing to make the place sound proof.

According to Stencil, they plan to work with the residents in the chosen area.

“We’re meeting with local units of government and meeting with the general public as well to get their input as to what the park could be,” said Stencil.

The Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department will not know until December if they have received the grant and then there are a few steps after that, including a vote by state legislature.

Awesome news! Hopefully the process moves right along and the park opens quickly! Glad to see that I'll have a new place to wheel and all of my down state urban buddies will finally have a place to go wheeling that isn't 3 hours away from home!

Oakland county parks seems to run their system really well. I'm surprised it took them this long to realize a bunch of money was traveling right through oxford heading north to go to the mounds. It will be great if there is no mud at the new park to keep the mud trucks at the mounds.

As an Oxford resident with a Heep and a couple of four wheelers, this is very exciting. Something like this would be great for our little community and I am sure the local stores and restaurants would love to see the additional business.